This final performance report for the Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Public Library literacy project begins with a section that provides quantitative data. The next section compares actual accomplishments to the project goal--to provide county citizens with better access to literacy services--and the following related objectives for 1992-93: (1)…

Even Start family literacy programs in Texas were evaluated by outside evaluators. Data were gathered from two groups. The first group consisted of 631 families who were enrolled in 11 Even Start programs in Texas during the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 program years. A survey, in English or Spanish, was administered to all parents in attendance on two…

This report provides demographic data on students attending New York City Adult Literacy Initiative (NYCALI) programs. It specifies the number of students served by each literacy provider agency (LPA) and the types of classes they attend. It includes data on total instructional hours offered, total hours of student attendance, enrollment figures…

This packet consists of materials related to Equipped for the Future (EFF), a national, customer-driven, grassroots, standards-based adult literacy system reform initiative of the National Institute for Literacy. "EFF Background Materials" compares the traditional and EFF views of what adults need to know and explains what EFF standards…

The authors describe various parenting behaviors, such as nurturance, discipline, teaching, and language use, and explain how researchers measure them. They note racial and ethnic variations in several behaviors. Most striking are differences in language use. Black and Hispanic mothers talk less with their young children than do white mothers and…

Family literacy programs reflect a recent trend in educational reform that has proven to be a successful educational model for all members of the family unit. Based on the literature that links family involvement to student achievement, these initiatives focus on empowering parents of school children. These programs have been particularly…

This issue focuses on practices that can help improve reading instruction and includes two announcements from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). It begins with a look at study groups, the practice of teachers getting together to focus on instructional practices and student learning. Stacey Joyner, a staff member of SEDL's Texas…

This paper describes a field-based effort in which practicing teachers collaborated with a university researcher to develop, inaugurate, and maintain a family literacy program. In this context, family literacy is an intergenerational program serving all members of the family, meeting the needs of adult family members as individuals, not just as…

This videtape is a guide hosted by Judy Woodruff to starting and enhancing a library-based family literacy project. Librarians and literacy providers learn: how to do a needs assessment, how to build a team within the library; how to develop a community coalition; how business partners contribute to family literacy programs; and how to recruit…

This document reports findings of eight Virginia adult educators who designed and conducted research projects within their programs. Abstracts and bibliographies appear first. "Why Tutors Do What They Do" (Karen Cook, Jean Dooley, Charles Fuller) examines responses of volunteer literacy tutors to questions about their expectations and…

Parent involvement in their children's schooling declines dramatically as students move through middle school and high school, though students still want and need their parents' help to reach educational goals. This newsletter presents several articles on partnerships between schools and families and between families and community programs. The…

The six articles in this issue attempt to answer questions that have arisen due to the increase in programs that cross existing or traditional age barriers in literacy education. They draw upon recent and current research and practice both in the United Kingdom and the United States. "Family Literacy: An Intergenerational Approach to…

The Even Start program represents an innovative combination of programs for adult basic education, parenting education, and early childhood education. Focusing on parents and children as a unit, Even Start projects have three interrelated goals: (1) to help parents become full partners in the education of their children; (2) to assist children in…

The report presents an evaluation of the Ysleta Independent School District (Texas) state-funded Even Start Project, a comprehensive family literacy program consisting of adult education (basic skills, English as a second language, citizenship, transition to college), intergenerational literacy classes with preschool children, early childhood…

This document relays the stories of nearly 100 Tennessee adults whose lives were changed through participation in some form of adult basic education (ABE). The document begins with a brief explanation of how Tennessee's 102 ABE programs are administered and definitions of the following forms of ABE: Families First (a 20-hour weekly course of basic…